Equanimity, Even-Mindedness, and Non-attachment This is one of the greatest spiritual skills to learn, and one of the most difficult. It is the key to surfing life’s waves with ease and one of thesurest ways to achieve joy. When I first taught this at a Buddhist kids camp (the Buddhists call it Equanimity and it is one of the …

Reading aloud is a major part of Primary class time and I use picture books to spark interest in a new subject, to deepen understanding, or just to be silly. Lately, I’ve been exploring using read-alouds as a tool to shift energy in the classroom. One day, the students came in from a PE where there had been some conflict. …

Tonya’s Story We want to add some stories from people who have attended Living Wisdom Schools; to hear about how this form of education has impacted the rest of their lives. This story is from Tonya Gorman, who was one of the very first students at the Living Wisdom School in Portland. These days, she is exploring Costa Rica. I …

Energy and Attention Chandi, the kindergarten teacher at Living Wisdom School in Seattle, writes about how she redirects her students’ attention. “One of my favorite ways of changing energy is using my classroom xylophone. I’m not a fan of teachers using a loud voice to call their classes for attention. I think it is jarring to their energy bodies. That …

Boss of the Day Bharati is a master EFL teacher who taught at Living Wisdom in Beaverton for 15 years and now fills as a teacher whenever there is a need. She was recently filling in for Usha, teaching Communication/Language Arts to the 3rdgrade class. Since the class is 3-4-5th grade, the 3rd graders leave the classroom to do work, …

Calming Energy with Music Usha tells a story in Calm and Compassionate Children about a time that she chose to use music in the classroom to change energy, rather than talking and ordering students about. The students had come in from recess, many arguing and up in arms about something that had happened on the playground. This is a very …

Changing Energy Getting the students’ attention when transitioning activities is one of the most important behavior management tools that a teacher can have. The energy that accompanies that attention-getting will impact the energy of the new activity. When I first started working at LWS in Beaverton, I was struck by the much calmer ways that the teachers got student attention. …

The Story of a Cucumber Seed Where does the name “A Cucumber Seed” come from? It’s a story passed around in the Education for Life world, an oral tradition, you might say. And like most oral traditions, no one really knows where exactly it started. Usha claims Nitai first said this, but Nitai has no recollection of ever saying it, …

“If indeed, as most people deeply believe, life has purpose and meaning, then its goal must be to educate us ever-more fully to that meaning. And the true goal of the education we receive during our school years must be to help prepare us for that lifelong learning process.” – Swami Kriyananda